With the increased use of oil in modern industrial processes and manufactures, accidental oil spills have become more common. Frequently, such spills occur during the transport and shipping of oil when it is transferred from one container to another or when an oil container is ruptured for one reason or another.
Oil tankers with oil-holding capacities of many thousands of barrels navigate the world's oceans to ship oil from oil-bearing regions to oil-consuming regions. Foul weather and navigational errors can sometimes cause these tankers to run aground and rupture, forcing them to spill some or all of their contents. Offshore oil rigs sometimes suffer damage or blowouts that can cause oil to spill upon the ocean's surface. Other circumstances may occur where oil is spilled in significant or large quantities upon oceans, lakes, rivers, or streams.
When oil is spilled, it presents significant ecological problems to the environment in which it is spilled. Crude oil is toxic and adversely affects the life processes of most creatures and plants. Crude oil also contains several fractions, some of which are volatile and evaporate soon after exposure to the air. Others of these fractions are less volatile and form dense, thick globules or mats that may linger for several months, even years.
Due to the toxic nature of spilled oil, and due to the ecological consequences of such spilled oil, significant interest has arisen over the past several years in search of methods to recover such spilled oil. Such interest is reflected in the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent Number Inventor Date Issued ______________________________________ 5,169,519 Elsas 08 Dec. 92 5,137,630 Eklund 11 Aug. 92 5,089,121 McWhinnie 18 Feb. 92 5,051,181 Sandkvist 24 Sep. 91 5,043,064 Abell et al. 27 Aug. 91 5,028,325 Hamilton 02 Jul. 91 4,834,880 Lundin 30 May 89 4,485,013 Cockman 27 Nov. 84 4,360,430 Ellis 23 Nov. 82 4,336,137 Byers 22 Jun. 82 4,316,806 Canevari 23 Feb. 82 4,105,554 Janson 08 Aug. 78 3,904,528 Yocum 09 Sep. 75 ______________________________________
While these patents reflect some of the interest that has been shown in the development of the spilled-oil recovery art, the means by which they accomplish this task varies significantly. Some use mops or the like by which the oil is wicked out of the water. Others use conveyors that engage the oil to remove it from the water. Such conveyors often require scraping or the like once the oil has been engaged by the conveyor. Still others use chemical means that may allow for easier engagement or recovery of the spilled oil. However, such chemical means of oil recovery may impart to the water and local environment additional chemical contaminants that may not be welcome and might be toxic.
While the background art indicated above may have some virtues not present in the present invention, generally they rely upon complicated machinery requiring several components subject to easy wear and deterioration. Mops gradually become less effective as their use continues. Conveyors requiring bristles or fingers that are scraped will require replacement after continued use as well. With chemical recovery systems, the chemicals used to recover the spilled oil is naturally dissipated and dispersed over time, requiring replenishment on an ongoing basis.